JP7846825B1 - PCB transport system and PCB transport method - Google Patents

Abstract

[Problem] To provide a substrate transport system and substrate transport method that can prevent contamination of the substrate inside the FOUP when removing the substrate from the FOUP placed on the load port.
[Solution] The substrate transport system according to this disclosure includes a load port equipped with a mounting table on which a container having a plurality of slots for accommodating substrates is placed, a substrate transport device arranged adjacent to the load port and equipped with a housing having a substrate transport space, a fan filter unit provided on the ceiling of the housing, a substrate transport robot provided in the substrate transport space inside the housing, a port door provided so as to be movable along the side of the housing and opening and closing a lid that closes an opening formed in the side of the container via an inlet/outlet on the side of the housing, a gas supply unit provided above the inlet/outlet and discharging gas vertically downward, and a control unit that controls the operation of each unit, and controls the flow rate of gas discharged from the gas supply unit according to the position of the slots accessed by the substrate transport robot.
[Selection Diagram] Figure 3

Description

This disclosure relates to a substrate transport system and a substrate transport method.

In semiconductor manufacturing equipment, substrates such as semiconductor wafers are processed in containers called FOUPs (Front Opening Unified Pods), and multiple wafers are housed in these containers and transported between semiconductor manufacturing machines. The substrates are placed on slots within the FOUPs and are loaded and unloaded through openings in the FOUPs by transport arms within the semiconductor manufacturing equipment.

During this process, the FOUP lid is opened and closed using a port door to load and unload circuit boards. This means that air from the EFEM (Equipment Front End Module) circuit board transport chamber may enter the FOUP, potentially contaminating the circuit board surface.

In contrast, for example, Patent Document 1 describes a technique in which a purifying gas is supplied vertically downward along the opening surface of the device opening from a curtain nozzle provided above the device opening, thereby creating a downflow of purifying gas. By creating this downflow of purifying gas, it is possible to effectively prevent air from inside the substrate transport chamber from entering the FOUP (Fill-Out Uptube).

Patent No. 7069651

However, the technology disclosed in Patent Document 1 has a problem in that turbulence is generated when the transport arm loads and unloads substrates from the FOUP (Floating Up Unit) due to the downflow hitting the transport arm and the substrate held by the transport arm. This turbulence could cause air from the substrate transport chamber to flow into the FOUP, potentially contaminating the substrate. In this regard, while Patent Document 1 describes a continuous downflow during substrate transport, it does not address the problem of turbulence being generated when the transport arm or other components hit this downflow.

This disclosure was made to solve the above-mentioned problems and aims to provide a substrate transport system and substrate transport method that can prevent contamination of the substrate inside the FOUP when removing the substrate from the FOUP placed on the load port.

To solve the above problems, a first aspect of the present invention provides a substrate transport system comprising: a load port equipped with a mounting table for placing a container having a plurality of slots for accommodating substrates; a substrate transport device provided adjacent to the load port and having a substrate transport space for transporting substrates; a fan filter unit provided on the ceiling of the housing; a substrate transport robot provided in the substrate transport space inside the housing; a port door provided movably along the side of the housing and opening and closing a lid that closes an opening formed in the side of the container via an inlet/outlet on the side of the housing; a gas supply unit provided above the inlet/outlet and discharging gas vertically downward; and a control unit that controls the operation of each unit, wherein the control unit controls the flow rate of gas discharged from the gas supply unit according to the position of the slot being accessed when the substrate transport robot loads or unloads the substrates from the container.

A second aspect of the present invention is a substrate transport system according to the first aspect, wherein the control unit adjusts the gas flow rate before the substrate transport robot loads or unloads the substrate from the container.

A third aspect of the present invention is the substrate transport system according to the first aspect, wherein the control unit reduces the gas flow rate as the position of the slot accessed by the substrate transport robot moves upward, or increases the gas flow rate as the position of the slot accessed by the substrate transport robot moves downward.

A fourth aspect of the present invention is a substrate transport system according to the first or second aspect, further comprising distance detection means for detecting the distance to the transport arm of the substrate transport robot, wherein the control unit controls the flow rate of gas discharged from the gas supply unit based on the detection result of the distance detection means.

A fifth aspect of the present invention is a substrate transport system according to the fourth aspect, wherein the distance detection means is located above the loading/unloading port and, in a plan view, is positioned between the gas supply unit and the substrate transport robot.

A sixth aspect of the present invention is a substrate transport system according to the first to third aspects, wherein the control unit sets the flow rate of the gas discharged from the gas supply unit to its maximum value when the port door is open and the substrate transport robot is not accessing the container.

A seventh aspect of the present invention relates to a method using a substrate transport system comprising: a load port equipped with a mounting platform for placing a container having a plurality of slots for accommodating substrates; a substrate transport device provided adjacent to the load port and having a substrate transport space for transporting substrates; a fan filter unit provided on the ceiling of the housing; a substrate transport robot provided in the substrate transport space inside the housing; a port door provided movably along the side of the housing and opening and closing a lid that closes an opening formed in the side of the container via an inlet/outlet on the side of the housing; a gas supply unit provided above the inlet/outlet and discharging gas vertically downward; and a control unit for controlling the operation of each unit, wherein when the substrate transport robot loads or unloads the substrates from the container, the flow rate of gas discharged from the gas supply unit is adjusted according to the position of the slot being accessed.

According to this disclosure, a substrate transport system and substrate transport method can be provided that can prevent contamination of the substrate inside the FOUP when removing the substrate from the FOUP placed on the load port.

A schematic plan view of a substrate transport system according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. This is a schematic longitudinal cross-sectional view of a substrate transport system according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating how the transport arm accesses the substrate within the FOUP in the substrate transport system. This is a block diagram of the control unit of a substrate transport system according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. This is a flowchart showing a substrate transport method, including a method for controlling the flow rate of the gas supply section of a substrate transport system according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. This table shows the relationship between the control of the substrate transport robot and the gas flow rate control in a substrate transport system according to one embodiment of this disclosure. This flowchart shows a substrate transport method, including a method for controlling the flow rate of the gas supply section of a substrate transport system, according to a modified embodiment of the present disclosure. This table shows the relationship between detection by the distance detection means and flow rate control in a substrate transport system according to a modified embodiment of the present disclosure.

The following describes in detail embodiments for carrying out the present invention (hereinafter simply referred to as "this embodiment"). This embodiment is illustrative for explaining the present invention and is not intended to limit the present invention to the following content. The present invention can be appropriately modified and implemented within the scope of its gist. In the drawings, the same elements are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant explanations are omitted. Furthermore, unless otherwise specified, positional relationships such as up, down, left, and right are based on the positional relationships shown in the drawings. Moreover, the dimensional ratios in the drawings are not limited to those shown.

Figure 1 is a schematic plan view of a substrate transport system according to one embodiment of this disclosure. Figure 2 is a schematic longitudinal cross-sectional view of the substrate transport system of Figure 1. Figure 3 is an explanatory diagram showing how the transport arm accesses the substrate within the FOUP in the substrate transport system of Figure 1.

<Circuit Board Transport System>

As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the substrate transport system 300 of this embodiment comprises a load port 2, a substrate transport device 1, and a control unit 70 that controls the operation of each part. The load port 2 includes a loading platform 20 on which the container 10 is placed. The substrate transport device 1 comprises a housing 30, a port door 40, a fan filter unit 50, a substrate transport robot 60, and a gas supply unit 80.

(container)
As shown in Figures 1 and 3, the container 10 comprises a container body 11 having an opening 12 and a lid 13. The container 10 may be, for example, a FOUP, and can accommodate a plurality of substrates W placed on the slots 14 with their surfaces facing upwards. One substrate W is placed in each slot 14. Substrates W may be placed in all of the slots 14 in the container 10, or they may be placed in some of the slots 14, leaving some slots 14 empty.

The container 10 has an opening 12, which is sealed by a lid 13. The lid 13 is equipped with a latch (not shown), which secures the lid 13 to the container body 11 of the container 10.

The container 10, sealed by the lid 13, is transported by a transport device such as an OHT (Overhead Hoist Transport). When the lid 13 is opened, the substrate W contained in the container 10 is removed by a transport arm 61 (described later) and transported to the substrate processing device 3.

(Mounting platform)
As shown in Figure 3, the mounting table 20 comprises a base 21, a mounting section 23 on which a container 10 containing a substrate W is placed, and a moving mechanism (not shown) incorporated into the base 21 to move the mounting section 23 horizontally (in the Y-axis direction in Figure 2). For example, a container 10 transported by a transport device such as an OHT is placed on the mounting section 23 which is waiting on the negative Y-axis side, and the mounting section 23 is moved by the moving mechanism toward the housing 30 side (positive Y-axis direction) and mounted on the substrate transport device 1.

(Cabinet)
As shown in Figure 2, the housing 30 forms a clean substrate transport space 32 inside it. A fan filter unit 50, which will be described later, is positioned above the housing 30 and supplies filtered clean air into the substrate transport space 32 as a downflow DF vertically downward.

The housing 30 is installed adjacent to the mounting base 20 of the load port 2. As shown in Figure 3, an loading/unloading port 31 is formed in the side wall of the housing 30 in an area extending vertically upward from the end of the base 21. When the mounting section 23 moves towards the housing 30, allowing communication between the container 10 and the substrate transport space 32, the substrate W is loaded and unloaded through this loading/unloading port 31.

The housing 30 houses a substrate transport robot 60 that handles the transfer of substrates W in the substrate transport space 32. The housing 30 also forms a connection point between the substrate processing device 3, which performs various processes on the substrates W, and the load port 2. The substrate transport robot 60 removes the substrates W from the container 10 and transports them to the substrate processing device 3, and then receives the substrates W from the substrate processing device 3 and places them back into the container 10.

(Port Door)
When the container 10 is not placed on it, the port door 40 is fitted into the loading/unloading port 31 of the housing 30 to close the loading/unloading port 31. When the container 10 is placed on it, the lid 13 of the container 10 is opened and closed through the loading/unloading port 31 on the side of the housing 30.

The port door 40 is movably mounted by a port door drive unit 41. Specifically, the port door 40 holds the lid 13 via the loading/unloading port 31, and while holding the lid 13, moves horizontally towards the rear (positive Y-axis direction) by the port door drive unit 41, removing the lid 13 and opening the opening 12 of the container 10 and the loading/unloading port 31 of the housing 30. Then, the port door 40 moves vertically downward (negative Z-axis direction) along the side of the housing 30 by the drive mechanism. The container 10 then opens to the substrate transport space 32, allowing the transport arm 61 of the substrate transport robot 60 to access the container 10. The transport arm 61 holds the substrates W contained in the container 10 one or more at a time and transports them to the subsequent substrate processing device 3.

After processing in the substrate processing device 3, the substrate W is transported to the container 10 by the substrate transport robot 60. When closing the lid 13 of the container 10 containing the processed substrate W, the port door 40 moves vertically upward (positive Z-axis direction) while holding the lid 13. Then, it moves horizontally towards the front (negative Y-axis direction), fitting the lid 13 into the opening 12 of the container 10. A locking mechanism (not shown) is activated to secure the lid 13 to the container 10. As described above, the port door 40 opens and closes the opening 12 of the container 10 and the loading/unloading port 31 of the housing 30.

(Fan filter unit)
As shown in Figure 2, the fan filter unit 50 is installed on the ceiling of the housing 30 and supplies filtered clean air into the substrate transport space 32. Examples of clean air include dry air or an inert gas such as nitrogen gas.

(Circuit board transport robot)
The substrate transport robot 60 is installed in the substrate transport space 32 within the housing 30. As shown in Figure 3, the substrate transport robot 60 comprises a transport arm 61 and a substrate transport robot drive unit 62, and transports substrates W in and out through the loading/unloading port 31 of the housing 30, which is in communication with the opening 12 of the container 10. The operation of the substrate transport robot 60 is controlled by the substrate transport robot drive unit 62.

(Gas Supply Department)
As shown in Figure 3, a gas supply unit 80 for discharging inert gas is provided above the inlet/outlet 31 of the housing 30. The gas supply unit 80 is equipped with a gas discharge nozzle 81 and discharges inert gas vertically downward to form an air curtain AC. As the inert gas, nitrogen gas (N2), argon gas (Ar), or, if other than an inert gas, clean dry air (CDA) can be used. The gas supply unit 80 is provided along the entire width of the inlet/outlet 31 in a plan view, but it may be modified as appropriate.

(Distance detection means)
As shown in Figure 3, a distance detection means 90 may be provided near the gas supply unit 80 to detect the distance to the transport arm 61 of the substrate transport robot 60. The distance detection means 90 may have a distance sensor 91. The distance detection means 90 is, for example, located above the loading/unloading port 31 of the housing 30 and positioned between the gas supply unit 80 and the substrate transport robot 60 in a plan view.

The distance sensor 91 preferably measures the distance to the transport arm 61 that accesses the container 10. As shown in Figure 3, for example, the distance between the distance sensor 91 and the transport arm 61 is calculated when the transport arm 61 enters vertically below the distance sensor 91. The distance sensor 91 is preferably positioned adjacent to the gas supply unit 80 and on the same plane. Known technologies can be used for this distance sensor 91; it may detect distance by irradiating light such as laser light or infrared light and measuring the time it takes for the light to reflect off an object and return. Alternatively, any sensor that utilizes sound, ultrasound, etc., and has a distance-measuring function may be used. Examples include optical distance sensors, ultrasonic distance sensors, and millimeter-wave radar sensors. Furthermore, the distance between the gas supply unit 80 and the transport arm 61 may also be calculated using an image from an imaging device such as a CCD camera.

(Control Unit)
Figure 4 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the control unit of the substrate transport system 300 according to this embodiment. As shown in Figure 4, the port door drive unit 41, the gas supply unit 80, the substrate transport robot drive unit 62, and the distance detection means 90 are electrically connected to the control unit 70.

The control unit 70 includes a controller 71 that receives input data from various control programs and controls the operation of each part of the substrate transport system 300, and a storage unit 72 that stores the input data from the various control programs.

The controller 71 is composed of a CPU (Central Processing Unit), memory, etc., and controls the operation of each part by executing a predetermined program. The storage unit 72 can be composed of a storage medium such as a hard disk drive, compact disk, flash memory, flexible disk, or memory card. These storage media store the control program, which is installed in the control unit 70 and executed by the controller 71. The controller 71 has the following functional configuration: a drive control unit 75, a flow rate control unit 76, and a distance calculation unit 77.

The functions of each control unit will be explained in detail with reference to Figure 6. Figure 6 is a table showing the relationship between the control of the substrate transport robot 60 and the gas flow rate control in this embodiment.

In Figure 6, "access position" refers to the location of the slot 14 in the container 10 accessed by the transport arm 61 of the substrate transport robot 60. For example, slot area 4 refers to the location of the slot 14 within the range L4 shown in Figure 3. The number of rows of slots 14 in slot area 4 can be selected as appropriate; it may be just one row.

Furthermore, "door open" indicates that the port door 40 is open, holding the lid 13, and the opening 12 of the container 10 and the loading/unloading port 31 of the housing 30 are in communication. "Door closed" indicates that the port door 40 is not holding the lid 13, and the loading/unloading port 31 of the housing 30 is closed. In this case, it does not matter whether the container 10 is placed on the mounting base 20 or not.

First, the drive control unit 75 transmits a control signal to the port door drive unit 41. In the case of "door open" as shown in Figure 6, the drive control unit 75 transmits a door open control signal to the port door drive unit 41, and the port door drive unit 41 moves the port door 40 from the position that closes the loading/unloading port 31 of the housing 30 to the position below the mounting base 20 as shown in Figure 3. Conversely, in the case of "door closed," the drive control unit 75 sends a door closed control signal to the port door drive unit 41, and the port door drive unit 41 moves the port door 40 from the position below the mounting base 20 to the position that closes the loading/unloading port 31 of the housing 30.

Furthermore, the drive control unit 75 sends a control signal to the substrate transport robot drive unit 62. Specifically, the drive control unit 75 instructs the substrate transport robot drive unit 62 which slot 14 the transport arm 61 of the substrate transport robot 60 should access. For example, in the example in Figure 3, there are three rows of slots 14 in the slot area 4, L4. Each slot 14 is assigned a slot ID, and the transport arm 61 accesses the slot 14 with the slot ID instructed by the drive control unit 75.

The flow rate control unit 76 controls the flow rate of the inert gas supplied by the gas supply unit 80. In Figure 6, the values listed in the table represent the flow rate as a percentage of the maximum flow rate of the inert gas discharged from the gas supply unit 80, which is set to 100%. For example, referring to Figure 6, the drive control unit 75 transmits a control signal to the port door drive unit 41 to open the door and a control signal to the substrate transport robot drive unit 62 to access the slots 14 located in the slot area 4. In this case, the flow rate control unit 76 controls the gas supply unit 80 to supply inert gas at 100% flow rate. This flow rate can be appropriately selected and may be less than 100%.

Furthermore, when the door is open and the drive control unit 75 controls the substrate transfer robot drive unit 62 to access the slot 14 located in slot area 3, the flow rate control unit 76 controls the gas supply unit 80 to supply inert gas at a flow rate of X%. Similarly, when the substrate transfer robot 60 accesses a slot 14 located in slot area 2, the flow rate control unit 76 controls the inert gas to a flow rate of Y%, and when it accesses a slot 14 located in slot area 1, it controls the inert gas to a flow rate of Z%.

As described above, the drive control unit 75 and the flow rate control unit 76 control the flow rate of the inert gas discharged from the gas supply unit 80 according to the position of the slot 14 accessed by the substrate transfer robot 60.

Furthermore, the timing for switching the flow rate of the inert gas discharged from the gas supply unit 80 can be before the substrate transport robot 60 accesses the container 10. Specifically, it is preferable that the flow rate is adjusted by the time the transport arm 61 of the substrate transport robot 60 enters the vertically downward direction of the inert gas discharged from the gas supply unit 80.

As shown in Figure 3, for example, slot area 1 is set to the range L1, similarly, slot area 2 is set to the range shown in L2, slot area 3 to the range L3, and slot area 4 to the range L4. Each slot area is at a different distance from the gas supply unit 80 (gas discharge unit 81), and when arranged in order from furthest to longest distance from the gas supply unit 80, they are L4, L3, L2, and L1.

In this embodiment, when the substrate transport robot 60 loads and unloads the substrate W into and out of the container 10, the flow rate of the inert gas is controlled to decrease as the position of the accessed slot 14 increases. Therefore, in the example shown in Figure 3, the flow rate of the inert gas is lower when the substrate transport robot 60 accesses slot area 3 than when it accesses slot area 4. That is, the ratio of the inert gas flow rates in Figure 6 is 100% > X% > Y% > Z%.

Furthermore, when the door is open and the drive control unit 75 controls the substrate transport robot drive unit 62 to prevent the substrate transport robot 60 from accessing any of the slots 14, the flow rate control unit 76 controls the gas supply unit 80 to supply inert gas at 100% flow rate. That is, when the port door 40 opens the lid 13 and the substrate transport robot 60 does not access the container 10, the flow rate of the inert gas discharged from the gas supply unit 80 is set to 100% of its maximum value.

The distance calculation unit 77 controls the distance detection means 90, which detects the distance from the distance sensor 91 to the transport arm 61. Specifically, it calculates the position of the slot 14 that the transport arm 61 accesses from the distance to the transport arm 61 detected by the distance detection means 90. The distance sensor 91 (distance detection means 90) is located above the loading/unloading port 31 of the housing 30 and is positioned between the gas supply unit 80 and the substrate transport robot 60 in a plan view. This allows the aforementioned distance to be detected before the transport arm of the substrate transport robot 60 enters the area vertically below the gas supply unit 80.

As shown in Figure 8, the distance calculation unit 77 calculates the range of the slot 14 that the transport arm 61 will access, based on the distance detected by the distance sensor 91 (distance detection means 90). For example, based on the distance detected by the distance detection means 90, the distance calculation unit 77 calculates which range (L4, L3, L2, or L1) the transport arm 61 is attempting to access. It then identifies the slot area that the transport arm 61 will access.

<Method for transporting circuit boards>
In the substrate transport system 300 having the above configuration, the substrate transport method, including the flow rate control method of the gas supply unit 80, will be described below with reference to Figure 5.

Figure 5 is a flowchart of the substrate transport method P100, including the flow rate control method, in this embodiment. First, the container 10, which is the FOUP, is placed on the mounting table 20 from the OHT, etc. (Step S101).

Next, the discharge of inert gas from the gas supply unit 80 is started (step S102). In conjunction with the start of inert gas discharge, the port door drive unit 41 controls the operation of the port door 40, removing the lid 13 from the container 10 and opening the opening 12 of the container 10 and the loading/unloading port 31 of the housing 30 (step S103).

In step S103, the control unit 70 determines whether the substrate transport robot 60 is accessing the container 10. If it is not accessing the container, the flow rate control unit 76 adjusts the flow rate of the inert gas to its maximum value (100%).

Next, the flow rate control unit 76 adjusts the flow rate of the inert gas according to the position of the slot 14 accessed by the substrate transport robot 60, based on the control signal from the drive control unit 75 (step S104). In the example shown in Figure 5, a control signal is transmitted to transport the substrate in the first slot 14 located in the slot area 1. Based on this control signal, the flow rate control unit 76 adjusts the flow rate of the inert gas to discharge Z% from the gas discharge unit 81.

Then, the substrate W is discharged from the first slot 14 of the container 10 by the substrate transport robot 60 (step S105). Here, as described above, the flow rate adjustment of the inert gas by the flow control unit 76 is performed before the transport arm 61 of the substrate transport robot 60 enters vertically below the gas discharge nozzle 81.

Subsequently, the drive control unit 75 specifies the slot ID of the slot 14 from which the substrate W will be discharged and sends a control signal to the substrate transport robot drive unit 62. For example, as shown in Figure 5, when a control signal is issued to transport the substrate from the Nth slot 14, the flow rate control unit 76 determines which slot area the Nth slot 14 belongs to based on that control signal. Then, it controls the gas supply unit 80 so that the inert gas flow rate ratio corresponds to that slot area. In this way, the flow rate control unit 76 adjusts the inert gas flow rate based on the control signal from the drive control unit 75 (step S106). For example, if the Nth slot 14 is the Ninth slot 14 belonging to slot area 3, the inert gas flow rate is increased to X% (X > Z). Then, the substrate transport robot 60 discharges the substrate W from the Nth slot 14 (step S107).

The drive control unit 75 refers to the unloading schedule of the substrate transport robot 60. When it determines that the substrate transport robot 60 has finished accessing the container 10, the drive control unit 75 transmits a control signal to the port door drive unit 41 instructing it to close the lid 13. The port door drive unit 41 receives the control signal and performs the closing operation of the lid 13 (step S108).

The drive control unit 75 then determines that the port door 40 is closed, and the flow rate control unit 76 controls the flow rate of the inert gas to 0%, i.e., to stop the discharge (step S109).

Furthermore, the above-described flow rate control method P100 may also be implemented by storing the control program in a storage medium, installing this control program in the control unit 70, and then having the control unit 70 execute the series of flow rate control methods P100.

As described above, in the inert gas flow rate control of this embodiment, the control unit 70 controls the flow rate of the inert gas discharged from the gas supply unit 80 based on the control signals of the port door 40 and the substrate transport robot 60. Specifically, the flow rate of the inert gas discharged from the gas supply unit 80 is controlled according to the position of the slot 14 accessed by the substrate transport robot 60. This suppresses the generation of turbulence when the substrate transport robot 60 accesses the container 10, thereby preventing contamination of the container 10 and the substrate W.

Furthermore, by adjusting the flow rate of the inert gas before the substrate transport robot 60 loads or unloads the substrate W into or out of the container 10, turbulence generated by the movement of the transport arm 61 of the substrate transport robot 60 can be reliably suppressed.

Furthermore, the flow rate of the discharged inert gas is reduced as the position of the slot 14 accessed by the substrate transfer robot 60 increases. That is, when accessing a slot 14 close to the gas supply unit 80, the flow rate of the discharged inert gas is reduced compared to slots 14 further from the gas supply unit 80. This suppresses the size and velocity of the gas flow hitting the transfer arm 61, thereby further reducing turbulence. Alternatively, the flow rate of the discharged inert gas may be increased as the position of the slot 14 accessed by the substrate transfer robot 60 decreases.

On the other hand, when the port door 40 is open and the lid 13 is open, and the substrate transport robot 60 is not accessing the container 10, the flow rate of the discharged inert gas is set to its maximum value. This prevents external contamination from the downflow DF from entering the container and maintains an appropriate air curtain AC.

<Different example>
Figure 7 shows a substrate transport method including the operation flow of gas flow rate control using distance detection means 90. Figure 8 is a table showing the relationship between detection by the distance detection means and flow rate control.

This modified example shows a substrate transport method P200, which includes a flow rate control method, and is a modified version of the substrate transport method P100, which includes a flow rate control method, as shown in Figures 5 and 6. Steps S201 to S202, which have the same configuration as the flow rate control method P100, are omitted from this explanation.

In step S203, the distance calculation unit 77 determines whether the substrate transport robot 60 is located vertically below the distance detection means 90 (in the detection area). Specifically, it determines whether the distance sensor 91 is ON or OFF. If it is OFF, the flow rate control unit 76 adjusts the flow rate of the inert gas to its maximum value (100%) (see Figure 8).

When the distance sensor 91 detects the entry of the transport arm 61 into the detection area (sensor ON), the distance detection means 90 detects the distance from the gas discharge nozzle 81 to the substrate transport robot 60 (step S204). In the examples of Figures 7 and 8, for example, the distance sensor 91 turns ON, the distance detection means 90 detects the distance to the entered transport arm 61, and based on the detected distance, the distance calculation unit 77 calculates that the position of the slot 14 accessed by the transport arm 61 is within the range L1. In this case, the flow rate control unit 76 adjusts the flow rate of the inert gas to discharge Z% from the gas discharge unit 81 based on this detection result (step S205).

Then, the substrate W is unloaded from the first slot 14 of the container 10 by the transport arm 61 of the substrate transport robot 60 (step S206). Here, as described above, the flow rate adjustment of the inert gas by the flow control unit 76 is performed before the transport arm 61 of the substrate transport robot 60 enters the vertically downward direction of the gas discharge nozzle 81.

Subsequently, the distance detection means 90 detects the distance to the incoming transport arm 61, and the distance calculation unit 77 calculates the range of the slot 14 accessed by the transport arm 61. For example, as shown in Figure 7, the distance detection means 90 detects the distance to the transport arm 61 (step S207). Then, based on the detected distance, the distance calculation unit 77 calculates the range of the slot 14, and the flow rate control unit 76 adjusts the flow rate of the inert gas to the range set for that slot 14 (S208). As shown in Figure 8, the ranges of the slot 14 are set to L4, L3, L2, and L1, and the distance to the gas supply unit 80 decreases in this order. The flow rate control unit 76 also controls the flow rate of the inert gas according to this range. For example, the flow rate of the inert gas is controlled as follows: 100% for L4, X% for L3, Y% for L2, and Z% for L1. The ratio of the inert gas flow rate is 100% > X% > Y% > Z% depending on the position of the slot 14.

Then, the substrate transport robot 60 unloads the substrate W from the Nth slot 14 (step S209).

In this modified example, the distance calculation unit 77 calculates the range (position) of the slot 14 accessed by the substrate transport robot 60 based on the detection result of the distance detection means 90, rather than on the control signal of the drive control unit 75. Then, the flow rate control unit 76 controls the gas supply unit 80 so that the flow rate of the inert gas corresponds to the range of that slot. In this way, the flow rate control unit 76 adjusts the flow rate of the inert gas based on the detection result of the distance detection means 90 (step S208).

The control methods for steps S210 and S211 are the same as those for steps S108 and S109 described above, so their explanation is omitted.

As described above, by controlling the flow rate of the inert gas discharged from the gas supply unit 80 based on the detection result of the distance detection means 90, the flow rate of the inert gas can be controlled based on the actual distance between the gas supply unit 80 and the transport arm 61. Therefore, it becomes possible to reliably suppress turbulence generated by the gas hitting the transport arm 61 and the substrate W.

Furthermore, while this disclosure describes the substrate transport robot 60 as transporting semiconductor wafers, it is not limited to this and can also be applied to devices that transport rectangular substrates such as PLP (Panel-Level Package) substrates. PLP (Panel-Level Package) is a semiconductor back-end manufacturing technology that uses a rectangular "panel" as the substrate, which is larger than the conventional disc-shaped "wafer."

The present invention has been described above based on the above embodiments. However, the present invention is not limited to the contents of the above embodiments, and can be modified as appropriate without departing from the present invention. That is, all other embodiments, examples, and operational techniques based on these embodiments by those skilled in the art are, of course, included within the scope of the present invention.

1. Substrate transport device 2. Load port 3. Substrate processing device 10. Container 14. Slot 20. Mounting table 30. Housing 40. Port door 50. Fan filter unit 60. Substrate transport robot 61. Transport arm 70. Control unit 71. Controller 72. Memory unit 80. Gas supply unit 81. Gas discharge nozzle 90. Distance detection means 91. Distance sensor 300. Substrate transport system DF. Downflow AC. Air curtain.

Claims (8)

A load port equipped with a mounting platform for placing a container having multiple slots for housing circuit boards,
A substrate transport device comprising a housing positioned adjacent to the load port and having a substrate transport space for transporting substrates,
A fan filter unit is provided on the ceiling of the aforementioned enclosure,
A substrate transport robot is provided in the substrate transport space inside the housing,
A port door is provided so as to be movable along the side of the housing and opens and closes a lid that closes an opening formed in the side of the container via an loading/unloading port on the side of the housing,
A gas supply unit is provided above the aforementioned inlet/outlet and discharges gas vertically downward,
It comprises a control unit that controls the operation of each part,
The control unit controls the flow rate of gas discharged from the gas supply unit according to the position of the slot accessed by the substrate transport robot when it loads or unloads the substrate into or out of the container, and increases the flow rate of gas the further the position of the slot accessed by the substrate transport robot is from the gas supply unit .
A substrate transport system characterized by the following features. A load port equipped with a mounting platform for placing a container having multiple slots for housing circuit boards,
A substrate transport device comprising a housing positioned adjacent to the load port and having a substrate transport space for transporting substrates,
A fan filter unit is provided on the ceiling of the aforementioned enclosure,
A substrate transport robot is provided in the substrate transport space inside the housing,
A port door is provided so as to be movable along the side of the housing and opens and closes a lid that closes an opening formed in the side of the container via an loading/unloading port on the side of the housing,
A gas supply unit is provided above the aforementioned inlet/outlet and discharges gas vertically downward,
It comprises a control unit that controls the operation of each part,
The control unit controls the flow rate of gas discharged from the gas supply unit according to the position of the slot accessed when the substrate transport robot loads or unloads the substrate into or out of the container, and sets the flow rate of gas discharged from the gas supply unit to its maximum value when the port door is open and the lid is open and the substrate transport robot does not access the container. The substrate transport system according to claim 1 or 2 , characterized in that the control unit adjusts the flow rate of the gas before the substrate transport robot loads the substrate into or out of the container. The substrate transport system according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the control unit reduces the flow rate of the gas as the position of the slot accessed by the substrate transport robot moves upward, or increases the flow rate of the gas as the position of the slot accessed by the substrate transport robot moves downward. The system further includes distance detection means for detecting the distance to the transport arm of the substrate transport robot,
The substrate transport system according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the control unit controls the flow rate of gas discharged from the gas supply unit based on the detection result of the distance detection means. The substrate transport system according to claim 5 , characterized in that the distance detection means is located above the loading/unloading port and is positioned between the gas supply unit and the substrate transport robot in a plan view. A load port equipped with a mounting platform for placing a container having multiple slots for housing circuit boards,
A substrate transport device comprising a housing positioned adjacent to the load port and having a substrate transport space for transporting substrates,
A fan filter unit is provided on the ceiling of the aforementioned enclosure,
A substrate transport robot is provided in the substrate transport space inside the housing,
A port door is provided so as to be movable along the side of the housing and opens and closes a lid that closes an opening formed in the side of the container via an loading/unloading port on the side of the housing,
A gas supply unit is provided above the aforementioned inlet/outlet and discharges gas vertically downward,
A substrate transport method using a substrate transport system equipped with a control unit that controls the operation of each part,
A substrate transport method characterized in that, when the substrate transport robot loads or unloads the substrate into or out of the container, the flow rate of gas discharged from the gas supply unit is adjusted according to the position of the slot being accessed, and the flow rate of gas is increased as the position of the slot accessed by the substrate transport robot is further from the gas supply unit . A load port equipped with a mounting platform for placing a container having multiple slots for housing circuit boards,
A substrate transport device comprising a housing positioned adjacent to the load port and having a substrate transport space for transporting substrates,
A fan filter unit is provided on the ceiling of the aforementioned enclosure,
A substrate transport robot is provided in the substrate transport space inside the housing,
A port door is provided so as to be movable along the side of the housing and opens and closes a lid that closes an opening formed in the side of the container via an loading/unloading port on the side of the housing,
A gas supply unit is provided above the aforementioned inlet/outlet and discharges gas vertically downward,
A substrate transport method using a substrate transport system equipped with a control unit that controls the operation of each part,
When the substrate transport robot loads the substrate into or out of the container, before accessing it
A substrate transport method characterized by adjusting the flow rate of gas discharged from the gas supply unit according to the position of the slot, and setting the flow rate of gas discharged from the gas supply unit to its maximum value when the port door is open and the lid is open and the substrate transport robot does not access the container.